by Denis Eve (he/him)

In 20 words or less, what exactly is The Brass Iris?

The Brass Iris Studio is a welcoming, colourful tattoo studio where we provide a tattoo experience that celebrates and welcomes all types of bodies.

Tell us about the key individuals that make up the Brass Iris family?

The Brass Iris has a small staff of five unique individuals. The studio is co-owned by resident tattoo artists Leopold Knox and Nicola Hardwick. Myra Lintaman and Iris Inkwell are currently our resident artists and Alan Knox is our shopkeeper who runs the retail section.

• Leopold (they/them) is a multifaceted artist with too many hobbies. When not tattooing they can often be found quietly working in the kitchen, in front of a sewing machine or tending to their plants.
• Nicola or “Nic”(she/her) loves all things colourful, wild and whimsical. She is described as “enthusiastic” with a “strong Leo energy” by peers, both of which are very accurate. Nicola’s motivation in life is creating space for those who often feel excluded, and she is constantly excited about the new tattoo studio.
• Myra (they/she) is an interdisciplinary artist who works in many styles including digital collage and handpoke tattooing. They are a groovy, gentle, intuitive presence and have been dedicating their life to art for many years now.
• Iris (she/her) is an island-born artist with a fiery drive to create. She loves people and is ever-interested by the inner workings of the mind and heart. She wants more than anything to be the best human she can be in this wacky world, and to always be surrounded by beautiful things.
• Alan Knox (he/him) is our welcoming shopkeeper who can often be found at the front desk working on his Warhammer figurines. Alan is sincere and loves talking to everyone who comes in the door. He would describe himself as “gay and cute…. and also nerdy”.

Had any of you collaborated on projects in the past?

Leopold was actually the first person Nic met when she moved to Victoria in 2015. They reconnected around 2019 through a mutual love for art and tattoos. Leopold organized the Glow Market in late 2019 and invited Nic to join as a vendor. Over the following year their paths crossed at tattoo events and through mutual artist friends until the concept for The Brass Iris was created at the end of 2020.
Similarly, Nic met Myra in 2018 through the art diploma program at Camosun. Previous to working at the studio Myra had completed a guest spot out of Nic’s old studio space.

Iris sort of magically appeared in their lives exactly when she needed to at the beginning of March, looking for a new space to tattoo out of.

The whole crew is a collection of new and old connections and a lot of serendipity.

What sets you apart from the more “traditional” tattooing environments?

The world of tattooing has needed an overhaul for a long time now. We work so closely with our clients, making marks on skin that last a lifetime. We believe that this work should be done with the utmost respect for the person who is being tattooed.
At The Brass Iris, our goal is to create a warm, welcoming, trauma-informed space where clients can reclaim their bodies through beautiful artwork. The focus is always on their comfort and experience. This means prioritizing body neutrality, anti-racism and accountability on the side of the artists. As a group of gender diverse, queer artists we also expect to be treated with that same respect by our clients.

We also hope to eliminate some of the gatekeeping that happens within the tattoo artist world. We are all community-taught artists who did not do typical apprenticeships. People who teach themselves how to tattoo or work from home studios are often looked down upon in the tattoo community because of the potential for unsafe practices or generally bad tattoos. We believe the answer to this is not judgement or distrust, but open communication about how to safely tattoo. We hope to host and help educate any new tattooers who are looking for guidance, instead of treating them like garbage which is what has happened to a lot of us.

Ultimately, there is a lot more space for kindness and acceptance within the world of tattoo and we are so excited to have a space where that can thrive.

I see you’ve incorporated a gift shop into The Brass Iris. Tell us about what we might discover here, who are the makers/artisans?

Our retail section is one of the best parts about our space. We have a collection of 40+ local artists who sell their work through our shop. There is a little bit of everything, from handmade jewelry to bespoke wooden spoons to comedic embroidered patches. We stock mostly queer and minority artists and, similarly to our thoughts on tattoo artists, love to give space to new young artists who are just getting started.

While this is incredibly hard to narrow down with such an amazing group of artists, here are our staff’s favorite picks:

• Leopold: Blue Luna Resin Works – Run by Sarah Stinson this small batch maker creates magical, sparkling resin cast pieces such as jewelry, trays and coffin shaped boxes (with lids!)
• Nic: Teag’s Island – This maker dries flowers from her extensive garden and casts them in resin to create shining, 3D, real flower jewelry that catches the eye like no other.
• Myra: Ditch Metals – Handwoven chainmail designs are the basis for Ditch Metal’s creations. They use silver jump hoops to weave gorgeous choker necklaces and harnesses that are both delicate and extremely badass.
• Iris: Cosmic Queers – CQ is actually owned by fellow tattooist Leopold and their husband (and our shopkeeper) Alan. They create a wide range of pieces like individually named plushies, screen printed (often very gay) shirts and, as of recently, some very fun patterned masks.

Launching a new venture during a global pandemic must have had some interesting hurdles. How did y’all navigate such unique and unfamiliar challenges?

Opening a new business during a pandemic was a truly bonkers decision but we don’t regret it one bit.

When chatting with the team about how it felt in the months before we were able to open, words like “terrible” and “exhausting” came up. Every certification we needed took weeks longer than expected, trying to safely set up a space while requiring help from separate households was a unique hurdle and figuring out the appropriate COVID protocol to keep us and our clients safe felt like a huge undertaking.

All this to say it certainly put a strain on us, Nic and Leopold especially, but we wouldn’t change it for the world. Our clients all love the space and we have been so welcomed by the community around us. Plus being able to look back and say “hey look we did it!” has been satisfying enough.

And lastly, why did you choose Esquimalt as your location? What has been the general reception from the Township community?

In some ways, Esquimalt chose us!

We had been hunting for a location for a few months when the space we are in now popped up as available. We got along well with the landlords immediately and could easily see our shop in the space. One of our biggest requirements was accessibility, meaning either ground floor or with an elevator, and this was one of the few spots that filled that need.

We would also like to acknowledge that we are all uninvited settlers on this land and no matter where we chose, it would not have been ours to take either way. As our business gets going, we are planning to donate monthly to local indigenous gofundmes and fundraisers and hope other businesses choose to as well.

Now that we have spent some time in Esquimalt, we are all huge fans of the area and will not accept any Esquimalt slander from those who don’t realize how great it is. We have been telling all our clients to visit the surrounding business, like Bunny’s Nook and the Esquimalt Community Arts Hub. They have both been so enthusiastic and welcoming, and we love our little spot amongst them so much.

To find out more about The Brass Iris, or to contact them directly, please visit them on Instagram. Or pop by the studio on July 17-18 2021 for their “Queer Shopping Experience Pride Market” featuring the works of 40+ Local Queer & BIPOC artists.

If you know a business or organization doing great work in our community that we should profile, email newsletter@victoriapridesociety.org.

 

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